Next-Generation Sequencing of Two Mitochondrial Genomes from Family Pompilidae (Hymenoptera: Vespoidea) Reveal Novel Patterns of Gene Arrangement

Abstract

Animal mitochondrial genomes have provided large and diverse datasets for evolutionary studies. Here, the first two representative mitochondrial genomes from the family Pompilidae (Hymenoptera: Vespoidea) were determined using next-generation sequencing. The sequenced region of these two mitochondrial genomes from the species <i>Auplopus</i> sp. and <i>Agenioideus</i> sp. was 16,746 bp long with an A + T content of 83.12% and 16,596 bp long with an A + T content of 78.64%, respectively. In both species, all of the 37 typical mitochondrial genes were determined. The secondary structure of tRNA genes and rRNA genes were predicted and compared with those of other insects. Atypical <i>trnS1</i> using abnormal anticodons TCT and lacking D-stem pairings was identified. There were 49 helices belonging to six domains in <i>rrnL</i> and 30 helices belonging to three domains in <i>rrns</i> present. Compared with the ancestral organization, four and two tRNA genes were rearranged in mitochondrial genomes of <i>Auplopus</i> and <i>Agenioideus</i>, respectively. In both species, <i>trnM</i> was shuffled upstream of the <i>trnI</i>-<i>trnQ</i>-<i>trnM</i> cluster, and <i>trnA</i> was translocated from the cluster <i>trnA</i>-<i>trnR</i>-<i>trnN</i>-<i>trnS1</i>-<i>trnE</i>-<i>trnF</i> to the region between <i>nad1</i> and <i>trnL1</i>, which is novel to the Vespoidea. In <i>Auplopus</i>, the tRNA cluster <i>trnW</i>-<i>trn</i>C-<i>trnY</i> was shuffled to <i>trnW</i>-<i>trnY</i>-<i>trnC</i>. Phylogenetic analysis within Vespoidea revealed that Pompilidae and Mutillidae formed a sister lineage, and then sistered Formicidae. The genomes presented in this study have enriched the knowledge base of molecular markers, which is valuable in respect to studies about the gene rearrangement mechanism, genomic evolutionary processes and phylogeny of Hymenoptera.